


Until the Stars Burn Blue

by Emerald_Ashes



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Happy Birthday Lance, Homesickness, Team as Family, mostly happy stuff, self-indulgent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-12-08 08:25:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11642694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emerald_Ashes/pseuds/Emerald_Ashes
Summary: Even though it’s not always a constant presence, sometimes it’s hard to combat homesickness.  Fortunately for Lance, he has some wonderful, and amazing friends.





	Until the Stars Burn Blue

How many times now has he come to stare up at the stars? 

Too many to count. They were in space; obviously, there were stars all around. It was a constant view outside their windows. But for Lance, it had become a habit before he went off to bed if he could, and watch the holographic stars. At first, it was because he was homesick, and staring at the projected constellations of the Milky Way just seemed to help. If only a little. 

Now he liked to see the stars and planets, and map out different systems. It was fun to give the stars names, even if they had them already. 

And little by little the red lights of distress beacons returned to peaceful blue. It wasn’t significant. But he could tell when one solar system seemed just a little brighter. 

Tonight was no different. He was staring at the holographic map again, lying flat on his back on the floor of the bridge. The day had been fairly easy. Training most of the morning but they were granted time off during the evening to do whatever they wished. Lance had come and pulled up Earth's coordinates. Homesickness was hitting him a little bit harder than usual, so he just watched the little planet as it rotated around the room. Always remaining a brilliant blue.  

It was comforting. Lance had learned early on that the Galra were not likely to attack his home planet. They had nothing to gain from it. Earth was not technologically advanced enough, and it would not provide any kind of useful resources to the Galra; they had only shown up before since the blue lion resided there.  

Maybe if they wanted to strike a blow at Voltron they would attack... no! Lance quickly shook the thought from his head. They had no reason. His family was safe. He would make sure of it. 

A slight hiss of the door sliding open alerted Lance to another presence. He glanced to the side and could just barely make out Shiro as he came into the room. He knocked somewhere along the wall so as not to startle Lance. Shiro had caught him a few times before in here doing the exact same thing. Sometimes Shiro would join him quietly on the floor and they would enjoy each other's company in silence. Other times Lance would talk about nothing. Just little stories that would come to mind. Shiro would always listen, content, and occasionally throw in stories of his own. 

This time, it seemed, Shiro didn’t come here to relax. It was still fairly early in the evening. Instead, he was a messenger.  

"Pidge is looking for you," he said leaning against the doorway slightly. "She's down in blue lion hangar."

"Oh." Lance wasn’t really surprised by this. She had been fixated on one her projects for weeks now. "Cool. Thanks, Shiro.” Lance pushed himself up from the floor and went over to the door. “Wanna tag along?" 

"I would. But apparently, Hunk needs my help with something in the kitchen.” Lance quirked an eyebrow at him. And Shiro seemed to think it was strange as well. “I know. It’s a bit weird.” 

Lance laughed as the two of them walked down the hall towards the kitchen. "Well yeah. I thought you were banned for life from touching anything other than the goo dispenser, and the water packets." 

Shiro shrugged, and a slight tint of pink colored his cheeks. "Yeah. Still am." 

“Well, good luck with whatever he’s got going on,” Lance saluted Shiro as he disappeared into the kitchen. A clatter of pots and pans clashing together, and Keith and Hunk’s voices could be heard before the door slipped shut. 

Lance continued on his way, hands stuffed into his pockets fiddling with his cell phone he still kept on him. He wondered what Pidge could want with him. 

He knew Pidge had been working on a project in her free time. He just wasn’t sure what it was exactly. Lance caught her a couple times, but whenever he questioned her about it, she would trail off into a code babble he didn't quite follow. He suspected some of it was a diversion to keep him from asking or figuring out her secret. Because he could understand some of that code talk...just not all of it.  

Other times he found her talking animatedly to Hunk, and even Coran, but when Lance popped into the room her voice would fall into hushed tones. It had kind of stung at first. He didn’t like knowing he was being kept out of the loop. 

Then one day she popped into his room, a bunch of equipment in her hands. She was buzzing as if she had too much caffeine. Which in any situation was a dangerous way to deal with her. "I need your help, please," she bounced on her heels excitedly.  

Lance had cautiously moved off of his bed. "Uh yeah, sure. What can I do?" 

"Can you activate Blue's sonic weapon?"   

That was a bit of an odd request "Probably. Never done it inside the castle though. Why..." he asked skeptically. 

She had already started to walk to the hangars, so he trailed after her. "I need to try something with it. A long range scan of sorts. I was hoping her power would amplify it. So if she doesn't mind me tinkering around a bit, I should be done within a few hours." 

Blue had heard Pidge’s explanation and rumbled in agreement. "Uh, she's good with it," Lance said hesitantly. "I'm fine too. Don’t you need me to be around to actually operate her sonic weapon?” 

Pidge shook her head. “Nope. I don’t think so. Not for what I’m doing.” 

“Okay,” Lance crossed his arms. His lips pressed together in a fine line. He didn’t like this. “Is this part of your big secret project you’ve been doing behind my back?" 

"Nope, not saying!" She smiled slyly. But her expression softened when she took in his uneasiness. “Don’t worry. It’s a surprise. I think you’ll love it when it’s done.” 

He had been shooed out of his own hangar after he activated the sonic weapon on Blue’s back, but left Pidge with explicit instructions to not break the castle. Pidge had just rolled her eyes at him. 

That had been a few days ago, though. So maybe Pidge was ready to reveal what she had been working on so adamantly. 

The door to Blue’s hangar opened with a heavy whoosh of air, enough to ruffle his jacket a bit. Pidge was sitting on the floor in front of her laptop and scanners. Blue’s sonic weapon was out and operational, without his prompting this time, and Coran was down on one knee beside Pidge patting her shoulder. 

When Lance drew nearer he could see her eyes were a little red and watery. There were obvious tear tracks on her cheeks. "Have you been crying?" he asked alarmed. He checked her over for any injuries, but physically she seemed fine. 

"Yeah. Sort of," she sniffed, but smiled up at him. "I tested it out to make sure it worked. I didn't want to tell you and get your hopes up." 

"Tested out what now?" 

She patted the floor next to her, and Coran took a step back to give them some space. Pidge started to explain. "I amplified the scanner. The one I used on Earth to discover the Galra. Made some tweaks here and there. But Blue’s sonar was the final piece of the puzzle. It actually works with her."

 “Plus we are only fourteen galaxies away,” Coran interjected excitedly. “Which helps. Still quite a distance though." 

Lance was completely lost. "What are you talking about?" 

"Just…Here. I'll show you. Give me your cell, unlocked." She held out her hand expectantly. 

He pulled the device from his pocket and entered the passcode. She tapped through it. And plugged it into her gadgets.  

Blue rumbled enthusiastically. This must be good if she was getting excited.  

"It’s about five o’clock, I think. So I hope someone is around. Oh, oh! Here!" She passed the phone back to him quickly. He fumbled with it, staring at it blankly for a moment. "It's ringing,” Pidge prompted. 

He held it up to his ear, and it was actually ringing. A little tinny, like making a long distance call. Weird. And then even stranger there was a click that it had connected. He felt his expression go slack. And Pidge had the proudest grin on her face.  

"Buenos Dias?" A voice answered the phone distractedly. There was some background noise and a clatter, like a dish falling to the floor. "Maria, no. Outside now!" 

A little girl’s voice giggled, and then a door slammed shut. 

"Sorry. Hello?" the women asked again. It was his Mamá.  

Suddenly, Lance couldn't speak. He was too stunned. He couldn't believe it. He thought he'd forgotten the sound of her voice. And now she was on the other end of his phone.  

"Say something," Pidge whispered and jabbed him. “You only get a few minutes.” 

"M-mamá," he said and his voice cracked.  

"Carlos? Is that you?" Another crash in the background and some more giggling children. This time he could hear the light sound of music, too. She must be working in the kitchen "Did you pick up the cake, hijo?"  

She always tended to mix them up when they were on the phone. Lance didn't think he and his older brother sounded anything alike. But he was kind of happy to hear the familiar misunderstanding. He laughed.

 "No, Mamá. It's...it's not Carlos. It's Lance." He heard her gasp loudly. A shaking, shuddering breath. And he could only imagine the disbelief on her face.

 "Mamá," he said again. "It's Lance. Mamá, realmente soy yo." 

 "L-Lance?" she whispered.

 "Sí, Mamá." 

“You’re alive!" She said it like she was trying to convince herself that it was true. "Lance...Lance where are you?" 

"It's complicated. You probably won't believe me. I didn't mean to leave. I didn't have a choice. But I'm okay. I'm safe." 

"But where are you?" his Mamá asked. “You’re school. They said there was an accident. That they were training with experimental equipment and you ran away with it. A crash…” 

“It’s a lie,” Lance snapped too quickly. But how dare the Garrison say those kinds of lies to his family. He shook his head. He should have expected as much, but now was not the time to be angry about it.  "You won’t believe it but I’m…in space, Mamá. I'm in outer space."

 "Lance," There was a warning in her voice. The one she used when someone was about to be in a heap of trouble. "Are you being serious? This isn't a joke? You’ve been missing for months."  

"No. No! I swear. I'm okay. I really am in space. It's super crazy, and I know it sounds like some made up story, but I swear it’s the truth. But we're into something big,” He could feel himself start to ramble. Everything he’s been wanting to tell her was spilling out now like a burst pipe. “But I’m okay. Really. I know it’s hard to believe. But I’m not lying to you. I wouldn’t. This is serious, I know that. I would have told you sooner, but just now was able to communicate. I don’t know when we’ll be able to talk again. But I miss you every day." 

“Lance, that’s…that’s a lot to take in,” He could hear her release a breath like she had been holding it in while he explained. 

“I… I know. Sorry, I just wanted to tell you the truth. No lies, I know the Garrison probably told you I died or something.” 

He could hear her crying a little harder. “Lance, when will you come home? Te echo de menos.” 

Pidge tapped him on the shoulder. "One minute," she said softly. And pointed to a countdown on the screen of her laptop.  

"I miss you, too. I'm sorry, Mamá. But I can't come home yet, and I don’t know when. But I will one day. I don't have long to talk."  

"Lance, we love and miss you so much." 

Something she had said at the beginning of the conversation popped into his head. "Hey Mamá, why did you need a cake?" 

 "What? Oh. We were...are going to celebrate your birthday today." 

"It's my birthday?” He laughed, but it started to transform into a sob. “I forgot.” 

“Sí, feliz cumpleaños," she said fondly.  

"I have to go, Mamá. The connection will cut out soon.  It was good to hear your voice."  

"Come home to us soon, Lance" her voice trembled. He hated the thought of making her cry. 

"I will. Te quiero," the countdown was almost at zero. 

“Te quiero con todo mi corazón,” she said. The countdown hit zero, and then the connection cut out.  

He kept the phone to his ear a few seconds longer. Just taking it all in. He had never imagined he'd be able to talk to her again. Not anytime soon. It had seemed like a distant dream.  

He dropped his arm to his side. And felt Pidge scoot closer. 

 "Are you okay?" She asked. And without any further warning, he pulled her into a tight hug. 

 "Thank you, thank you," his words transformed into sobs as he cried heavily into her shoulder. It was overwhelming. Even though he knew she wasn't one to be touchy, especially in a situation like this, she hugged him back and let him cry. It was a long while before he could compose himself again.  

“There, there, my boy,” Coran patted his back, and rubbed circles as he sobbed on Pidge. He wasn’t loud, really, just a lot of tears were streaming down his face.  They just wouldn’t stop. He realized Pidge must have called her own mother before he arrived. That’s why she had been crying too. 

When he finally pulled away, the others had found their way down to the hangar. 

 "I hope things are all right down here..." Shiro said hesitantly. 

 "Everything is perfect." Lance sniffled wetly, and wiped at his eyes. "Pidge is the most amazing tech genius in the universe. She deserves a medal." 

"So it works?" Hunk asked.  

She crossed her arms across her chest, "You doubted me?" 

“Lance, are you all right? We had something else planned, but…” Shiro seemed to look Lance up and down, assessing him. “Do you need some time to yourself?” 

Lance shook his head and wiped his cheeks with the edge of his coat sleeve once more. “No, no. I’m good, just I’ve wanted this for so long. It doesn’t feel real. Although, I’m not sure how many more surprises I can take today.” 

Coran stood and held his hand out for Lance to take, and then pulled him to his feet. Then he helped Pidge up next. The three of them walked over to meet with the others. They all offered warm smiles. 

“Where are we going?” Lance asked.

 “The kitchen,” Hunk responded cheerily. Lance picked up a scent of baked goods as he got closer to Hunk. His clothes smelled like cookies. “I made you something.” 

Their small procession headed through the castle halls, but right before they hit the kitchen door Hunk came up behind Lance. 

“Close your eyes,” he insisted. “and don’t worry, this should be a nice surprise.” 

Lance sighed, but complied. He even put his hands over his face, so Hunk knew he wasn’t cheating. Lance heard the door open, and the other’s footsteps across the floor. There was some shuffling, and then Hunk’s warm hand was at the small of his back gently prodding Lance to move forward. 

“Okay, open,” Hunk said. 

Lance pulled his hands away and gasped. 

“Happy birthday!” Everyone cheered, bright smiles all around. 

The lights in the kitchen were dimmed. It wasn’t dark though. On the counter there was a device displaying the star maps throughout the room, a miniature duplicate of the projections on the bridge. Next to it appeared to be a batch of cupcakes. Each one had a candle sitting in the center of its frosting. Well, it wasn’t quite a candle. It flickered, but its glow was slightly more artificial than a flame. All the same, it was glorious. 

Lance was at a loss for words. He gaped at them for a good minute. His mouth opened and closed uselessly. He had forgotten his own birthday, but no one else had. “You guys…” Lance choked on his words. He didn’t know what to say. This was so much more than he could have imagined. 

“Thank you,” he swiped at his eyes as tears started to well up again. He was so happy they had thrown this together for him. “This is…this means a lot to me. This means everything.”

Keith pressed a button on the star map, and the projection ceased. It was a small cube, similar to the one the Olkari gave to Coran. Keith picked it up and brought it over to Lance and placed it in his hand. Lance turned it over a couple times, observing.

“It was Keith’s idea to make the star map,” Allura supplied. “This way you can have a portable one in your room if you wish to view, rather than coming to the bridge all the time.”

“Your idea?” Lance was frankly amazed. Keith had never come to the bridge to sit with him like everyone else had.

Keith shrugged. “Kind of. I know you go to look at it a lot. Pidge and Hunk put it together though.”

Lance lunged forward and pulled Keith into a hug. “Thanks.” Then he let go and made to give everyone else a hug too. Shiro ruffled his hair, and Allura gave him a small, sweet kiss on his forehead.

And after he made his rounds to everyone, staying in a particularly long hug with Pidge after what she managed to do for him, Hunk pointed to the cupcakes.

“So…make a wish, Lance!”

“Alright, alright,” He chuckled.

Lance didn’t really have a wish. If anything it was that they would all get out of this war together. Of course, he missed home, but he was also fighting for them. He was here to keep his family safe. And he was okay with that. Because he wasn’t without family in space. He had made a second one and had gained even more people to love and cherish.

It would definitely take some time. He likely wouldn’t return until all the planets lost their distress signals. Not until they burned blue on the maps.

And it was okay. For now, this was enough.

Lance closed his eyes, prayed, and blew out the candles.

**Author's Note:**

> Just barely made it in time with posting this! Only an hour left for Lance's birthday on the east coast. 
> 
> This was a totally self-indulgent fic, but I think that's how most fanfics are anyway. Lance deserved to speak to his mom on his birthday. And it was accomplished through the magic that is Pidge, and some BS science (lol sorry).


End file.
